Compare the pair: El Niño 1997 and 2015 — The white areas indicate higher sea levels relating to the phenomenon which has led to wet weather in the US and drier conditions in Australia. Picture: NASASource:Supplied

IT MAY seem hard to believe with the deluge of rain currently hitting the east coast, but new data has confirmed that Australians are sweltering under the heat with above average temperatures.

And more hot days are set to come with the world in the grips of one of the strongest El Niño events ever recorded.

The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM)’s annual climate statement, released this morning, said a combination of El Niño and climate change led 2015 to be one of Australia’s hottest years on record and will almost certainly be the globe’s warmest ever.

A comparison of sea surface temperatures between July 2015 and November 1997 — relating to El Niño. Areas marked in red are indicative of hottest. Picture: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.Source:Supplied

The BoM’s acting assistant director for climate information services, Dr Scott Power, said the last 12 months were the country’s fifth hottest since records began.

“The national mean temperature was 0.83°C above average, with a number of notable heatwaves during the year and record-breaking temperatures from October to December.”

Nationally, Australian temperatures have warmed approximately 1°C since 1950, consistent with global climate trends, according to the BoM.

HOTTEST ON RECORD

University of Melbourne climate scientist Professor David Karoly told news.com.au there was now enough evidence to say 2015 was the hottest year since records began more than 100 years ago.

“The reason is primarily due to human-caused climate change with a combination of El Niño.”

The El Niño, which was declared in early May, has developed into the most significant and largest for nearly two decades, ranking alongside those in 1997-98 and 1982-83.

The phenomenon is caused by warmer sea temperatures in the Pacific sucking warm, moist air over North America while leaving Australia hot and dry.

“Sydneysiders may not have got out of their gumboots, and the cricketers certainly haven’t, but if you go west of the divide it’s still quiet dry, South Australia and Victoria have been hot and almost all of eastern Australia had below average rainfall,” he said.

Long-term drought conditions continued in Queensland with the dry weather also hitting parts of Victoria, South Australia and southwest Western Australia throughout 2015.

Rainfall was five per cent below average for the year, at 443.7mm and while January 2015 was wetter than average for large areas, the rain dried up for the rest of the year with September 2015 being third-driest September on record nationally.

Rainfall was well below average in southwest Western Australia, southeast South Australia, western to central Victoria, much of Tasmania and large areas of inland Queensland.

Huge seas are seen courtesy of Tropical Cyclone Marcia on the Gold Coast in February, officially the biggest cyclone of 2015. Picture: AAP Image/Dave Hunt.Source:AAP

Notable weather events last year included seven tropical cyclones including the category five cyclone Marcia in February. Severe thunderstorms caused widespread damage in Melbourne in the same month while a tornado hit Sydney’s southern suburbs in December.

A record autumn hot spell occurred across large parts of northern and central Australia during March.

Natalie and Paul Hennessy pictured in their lounge room of the damaged house that will likely be pulled down after a tornado hit the Sydney suburb of Kurnell in December. Picture: Braden FastierSource:News Corp Australia

The rain wasn’t completely absent, however, with the Indian Ocean Dipole weather event accounting for much needed downpours in Western Australia while an east coast low in April caused severe weather and flooding throughout the Sydney, Hunter and Central Coast regions of NSW.

Cold flurries even reached southern Queensland in July turning the sunshine state in to the snowy state.

MORE EXTREMES

But Prof Karoly said summer rains in Sydney and snow storms in Queensland didn’t mean climate change wasn’t occurring. “Natural variability in the weather is still very important so while you will get occasions of cold extremes and climate change that doesn’t mean cold temperatures suddenly disappear, it just means there will be a reduced frequency of cold extremes and an increased number of hot extremes and that’s what we’ve seen over the last 50 years.”

Snow covered land in Ballandean on the NSW/Queensland border in July. Picture: Jack TranSource:News Corp Australia

Ten years ago in Melbourne around nine days a year could be expected to be above 35C, said Prof Karoly. The average for the last decade was 12 days and the last 12 months have been higher still.

EL NIÑO ON THE WAY OUT

An imminent weakening of the current El Niño is likely to see cooler, wetter conditions later in the year, said Prof Karoly. “An El Nino typically starts in autumn and builds during winter so it is now at its peak and will likely wane in the early part and disappear by April or May and a return to more traditional weather patterns which will be welcome.”

The heat isn’t in retreat just yet though, in fact globally this year could ever surpass 20-15 in the record books, he said.

“We often find maximum global warming associated with El Niño happens three to six months after the peak and that means that 2016 is very likely to be even hotter and have record high global temperatures.”

So beach lovers, don’t pack away your swimmers just yet. With months to go until El Niño is gone, hot days and drought conditions are probably just around the corner. Once all this rain clears, that is.